Quranic Sciences

41.“Verily Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they remove (from the orbit); and did they remove, none would hold them after Him; verily He is the Forbearing, the Forgiving.”

Commentary

The situation of the heavens and the earth, as well as their motions and orbits, are with the will of Allah, and it is He Who protects them in every moment.

The words in this holy verse are about the sovereignty of Allah over the whole heavens and the earth. In fact, next to the negation of the partnership of the artificial objects of worship in the world of existence, it proves the Unity of divinity and Lordship. It says:

“Verily Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they remove (from the orbit); …”

Not only the creation at the beginning is done by Allah, but also their maintenance providence and protection are in His infinite Power. Moreover, in any moment they have a new creation, and the grace of being comes down to them from that bountiful source a moment after another, so that if their communication with that great source is ceased for a short moment, they will face with destruction.

It is true that the verse emphasizes on the subject of the protection of the superior system of existence, but, as it has been proved in the philosophical discussions, all beings are in need of the Origin for their permanence in the same form that they are for their temporal origination. And, thus, the protection of the system is not anything except the continuation of new creation and Divine emanation.

It is worthy to note that, without being fastened by anything, the celestial spheres have been rotating for millions of years in their places with the same orbs that have been decided for them without the least deviation, the example of which is seen in solar system. Our globe, the earth, rotates in its orb round the sum for millions or milliards of years with an exact order, which originates from the equilibrium of the power of polarization, and it obeys the command of Allah. Then, as an emphasis, the verse says:

“… and did they remove, none would hold them after Him; …”

Neither your idols, nor the angels, nor anything other than them is able to do this job.

In order not to shut the door of repentance to deviated polytheists and let them return in any stage they are, at the end of the verse the Qur’a-n says:

“… verily He is the Forbearing, the Forgiving.”

Because of His forbearance, Allah does not hasten in punishing them, and because of His forgiveness, He accepts their repentance, with its conditions, in any case and stage it is. Thus, the ending part of the verse refers to the situation of polytheists and that His Mercy encompasses them at the time of repentance and returning.

Some commentators have taken these two attributes in relation to maintenance of the heavens and the earth, because their destruction is an affliction and a punishment, and Allah, because of His Forbearance and Forgiveness, does not let people get this punishment and affliction, though the sayings and deeds of many of them require that this chastisement should be sent down, as Sura Maryam, No. 19, verses 88 to 90 say: “And they say: ‘The Beneficent (Allah) has taken (unto Himself) a son’.” “Indeed you have put forth something hideous!” “At it the skies are about to burst, and the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down crashing.”

During the length of the history of human beings this event has repeatedly happened that some of the astronomers have foreseen that, in its way, a particular comet, or other than it, may pass by the earth and probably it crashes this globe. These predictions have worried the thoughts of all people in the world.

In these circumstances this feeling appears for everybody that in this problem nobody can do anything, because if, for example, so and so celestial globe comes towards the earth and, under their gravity they crash each other, there will remain no trace from the thousand-year-old civilization of mankind, and even from other living creatures on the earth; and no power, except the Power of Allah, can prevent this event.

In these cases everyone feels absolute need unto absolute Self-Sufficient Allah; but when those probable dangers are removed, forgetfulness encompasses human beings.

Not only the crash of the celestial spheres and planets cause calamity, but also a slight deviation of a planet, like earth, from its orb may bring forth a calamity.

Adopted from the book : "The Light of the Holy Qur'an; Interpretation of Surah al-Fatir" by : "Sayyid Kamal Faghih Imani and a Group of Muslim Scholars"